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GREENSBORO - Police said 47,000 people have been notified that their personal information may have been on a computer tape stolen from a Greensboro medical practice.

The tape, which contained the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of patients at Greensboro Gynecology Associates, was taken from an employee's vehicle while it sat in the parking lot of the Denny's restaurant at 3900 S. Holden Road on May 29, according to a police report.

Greensboro Gynecology sent letters dated June 16 to patients notifying them of the theft, which they said happened while an employee was transferring backup files to a storage facility. The letter said the tape did not include treatment or specific medical information.

On Tuesday, officials from the Greensboro Police Department and the Guilford County Sheriff's Office said they had no record of the May 29 theft.

However, on Wednesday, police said the report was initially filed under the employee's name and did not list Greensboro Gynecology Associates as a victim. A separate police report listing the office has since been filed.

Police said the employee stopped at the Denny's at 10:55 p.m. on May 29 to get something to eat and her car was broken into there.

Capt. Janice Rogers, head of the department's Criminal Investigative Division, said: "(It was) someone simply breaking into her car."

Cpl. B.A. Bissett, who supervises the automotive crimes squad, said the thief pried into a back window and stole personal items of the employee in addition to the tape.

According to the police report, the employee didn't notice the theft until about 3 p.m. May 30 and the incident was not reported to police until June 4.

Police said the employee is not a suspect. Efforts to reach the employee for comment were unsuccessful Wednesday.

The police report lists the case as closed on June 13 because all leads had been exhausted. Bissett said the case could be reopened.

Greensboro Gynecology Associates told investigators that 47,000 letters were sent to people whose personal information was believed stolen, Rogers said.

Representatives of Greensboro Gynecology Associates declined to comment Wednesday.

One woman who called the News & Record on Wednesday said she received the notification letter.

"They said they had me as a patient at one point, but my records were destroyed years ago," said K.J., who asked that her full name not be used in case it could be connected to her stolen information. "When I called and asked specific questions, their answers were not satisfactory."

Cathy, who received the letter and asked not to be fully identified, said she had been looking for a new doctor and news of the theft is expediting her search.

"I wish they would take more steps to protect their patients," Cathy said.

In the letter, Greensboro Gynecology Associates suggests that patients be "vigilant" in monitoring credit activity. They said that stolen information was not encrypted, but it was unlikely to be accessed without training on the computer software they used.

"That's simply not true," said Todd Glassey, chief scientist and founder of San Jose, Calif.-based Certichron, which specializes in computer forensic analysis. "There are no systems in use today which make data impossible, or even really difficult, to identify."

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com